Handwritten Wrap

Knitting is its own language, every stitch a letter, strung together by our needles into words. With its rows and rows of coded stitches, our Handwritten Wrap is like jotting down an entire story!

Simple slip stitches create flecks of color against a solid ground, like words on a page. As complicated as it may look, you actually just use one color at a time across a whole row and let the magic of knitting do its work!

And like every good book, we’re nowhere without a plot. The plot here is the sheer vivacity of our Spectrum Silk. One hundred percent silk and a thousand percent beautiful, Spectrum Silk is a page turner!

Pairing two colors of Spectrum Silk is all about character development, finding the ones whose dialog really zings. We chose Blue Delphinium and Red Radicchio for a complicated relationship that’s sure to keep you knitting!

Gauge

Size

Notes

Stitch Multiple

This pattern works over an odd
number of stitches.

Slip Stitches

Slip all slipped stitches
purlwise.

Turn + Slide

At the
end of each row, you either “slide” or “turn” the work.

“Turn
work” means to do what you would normally do when knitting rows with circular
needles: Transfer the needle from your left hand into your right hand and the
needle from your right hand into your left, flipping the work around so the
opposite side is facing you.

“Slide
work” means to keep the same side of the work facing you and to push all the
stitches to the right end of the circular needles. Without turning the work,
start the new row as you normally would.

You
will know that you’re doing this right if the yarn you need to work the next
row is right there waiting for you!

Pattern

With Color A and smaller needles, cast on 47 (95) stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.

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27 Responses to Handwritten Wrap

I adore slip-stitch patterns, and have been yearning to try out Spectrum Silk, so thank you for this new beauty! I’m having a bit of trouble visualizing how the selvage works; could you possibly clarify “Crossing Color B below Color A (A is in front of B)” etc.?
Many thanks and best wishes!

Thanks for writing in about this! What’s meant by that is that as you switch from one color to another, you’ll be catching the non-working color so it tucks under the color you were using in the previous row, which will help to keep the selvage edges neat and tidy. The non-working color will be caught by the new working color at the edge of the wrap. I’m sure it will make perfect sense once you’ve got the yarn in hand. So glad to hear that you’re excited about the pattern and Spectrum Silk!

and this applies to all sites, not just yours.
i hesitate to order yarn for a project that i will wear close to my face. i can’t be sure how faithful our various devices that are used to get me the image will be to the color of the yarn.

I understand your hesitation – but please know that we’re always happy to describe color and softness of yarns if you have any questions! If you’d like to purchase a skein to try out and to see the color in person, we’re always happy to refund for store credit, any unwound yarn in original condition, if it isn’t what you were looking for. I certainly understand that ordering online can be a challenge for both color and feel and we’re always happy to do what we can to help!

Thanks for writing in and for your kind words! Unfortunately we don’t currently have the resources to create a video tutorial for this pattern, but I will certainly pass your request along to the creative team. One tip I can offer is to try this stitch out on a gauge swatch first- that really helped me get used to this pattern!

I’m curious about the size US #9 needle used for this pattern with a fingering/sport weight yarn. Does the larger size needle create an airiness or see-through quality to the fabric? Commonly, you suggest a US #3 or #4 for Spectrum Silk.
I love the pattern and would like to work up this wrap.

Thank you for writing in- this is a really great question! Linen stitch is notoriously tight and dense, so it’s fairly common to see linen stitch patterns knit using needle sizes 2, 4, or in this case 6 sizes larger than one would normally use! Since silk also has minimal give, we opted for a US 9 needle to create a drapey, wrappable fabric for this project. I hope you give this pattern a try and would love to see what you come up with!

Hi — What is it like for your hands to knit this silk, especially on big needles? I’m having a bit of strain (from knitting too much!) in my right hand and wondering if the lack of give in the silk may make it not the best choice for me right now. And — is cattail silk comparable in hand to spectrum or does it perhaps have more give? Thanks so much.

Thanks for reaching out! Our Spectrum Silk is a very inelastic yarn, and it’s not uncommon to experience some hand strain when working with yarns that don’t have any inherent stretch, like linen or silk. If you’re new to these types of yarns, it’s probably tempting to try to fight the yarn a bit and pull tighter to get the correct gauge and even out your stitches, but unfortunately that will only make it more painful to knit! I would suggest trying a swatch using a smaller needle and really relaxing while you knit so that you can knit at the correct gauge without straining your hands, and make sure to take plenty of breaks while you are still getting used to the yarn! Our Cattail Silk does have more stretch than Spectrum Silk, so if you are still having some trouble, you might want to give it a try. It’s still not as elastic as a wool or alpaca yarn, but I find it quite comfortable to knit with!

Hi, just want to say, everything I have purchased from u thus far is top quality. I love your ideas for knitted and felt projects. I am looking forward to my next trip to New York City and my first visit to your store. Stay well and thank you.

Thanks for writing in! Unfortunately, no, you do need circular needles to knit this wrap. Even though it isn’t worked in the round, because you are working single row stripes of two colors, you do have to be able to work from both edges of the wrap which requires a circular needle.

Thank you so much for the kind words! Spectrum Silk is a fairly inelastic yarn, which can be a bit of an adjustment to work with if you are used to a knitting with a springier fiber like wool. However, it’s very soft and supple, so it’s still quite pleasant to knit with! Some knitters do find that non-stretchy yarns can cause some hand strain, so I would recommend trying a gauge swatch first to see how it feels. If it is causing you any trouble, you can try knitting with a smaller needle so that you can relax and knit loosely while still obtaining the correct gauge!

Hi, I currently walk with a cane and although I love the Handwritten Wrap I really would like to make it in a cowl or a much shorter 8 inch wide scarf which would make it easier for me to wear under a coat or jacket. How much yarn would I need to purchase for a cowl about the size of your short Cable cowl or a shorter scarf and would the Spectrum Silk yarn be a good choice for these? Thanks for your help. Such a great pattern!

Thanks for reaching out! I think this wrap would be gorgeous as a cowl or narrow scarf! Spectrum Silk is very drapey so it won’t stand up like our Wandering Cable Cowl, but it would flow beautifully and add a wonderful pop of color and elegance to your outfits. Our pattern includes instructions for an 8 inch by 70 inch scarf, which takes 3 skeins of Spectrum Silk in your main color and one in the contrast color, and I think a short but wide cowl would take about the same amount!

I hope that helps, and please do let us know how it turns out!
Julianna

Could you recommend a you tube tutorial that show how you cross the yarns at beginning of those rows?

I have tried figuring it out on my own (my yarn shop is still closed) but I can’t get it right. When you cross Color B below A (row 2) or put A in front of B, will the A be the second stitch on needle?

Thanks for reaching out! Unfortunately, we don’t have the resources to put together a tutorial, but hopefully I can explain this step a little better – it sounds confusing when reading the pattern, but it’s really quite easy! You will essentially be twisting the two strands of yarn together before beginning the row, paying attention to which color goes on top of the twist, to make sure all the twists go in the same direction, even though you will sometimes be doing this step on the right side of the work and sometimes on the wrong side. If you take a look at our swatches of different color combinations, you can see that the selvages have a very regular candy-cane-like twist, all going in the same direction, which is created by crossing the yarns.

This step does not affect any of the stitches on the needle and doesn’t relate to which color you are working with or what color the stitches on the needle are, so there isn’t a relation to which stitch is coming up next on the needle. Once you have a few inches done, it should be quite easy to look at your work and tell which direction the yarns should twist together to make sure the selvages keep going in the same direction!

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